Marné-san cornered Corbeau with words.
"Furthermore, I have the medicine you gave to those siblings, and they have agreed to testify." (Marne)
"My words as a nobleman are more persuasive than those of an ordinary person. Besides, I have a track record of curing many sick people. Those who have cured illnesses can attest to my excellence." (Corbeau)
Even if he deliberately took the time to treat someone and make money from it, the fact remained that he had cured their illness. Above all, patients and those involved were unaware of this fact.
"What if there are several active patients who are making money just like the siblings?" (Marne)
Marné-san arranged the medicines on the desk.
"That is……" (Corbeau)
"You probably recognize this medicine because it's something you made. There are medicines you gave to the patients." (Marne)
"Why, that..." (Corbeau)
"They were trying to commit theft to buy medicine from you. So, in exchange for me making them proper medicine, I took the medicine. They are also willing to testify if necessary." (Marne)
"That's just a few people. I've cured many, many times more sick people than that." (Corbeau)
On an annual basis, the majority of patients had already been cured. If they were cured, there was no way to know if it was a long-term illness or one that could be easily cured.
"Oh, that's okay then. The other pharmacists will testify." (Marne)
Corbeau's eyes widen at Marné-san's words.
"You've made too many enemies. Everyone said they would testify if you were removed. I've heard a lot about what they were asked to do, such as restrictions on making medicines, being told to transfer patients around, or being told not to make medicines at all. So they're willing to testify about the patients you've been involved with." (Marne)
Marné-san blocked Corbeau's escape route. It seemed like she had been busy with various things while I wasn't there to guard her.
"D-Don't mess with me!" (Corbeau)
"There's no point in getting angry. You're finished. You should just accept your punishment." (Marne)
The moment she said that, Marné-san clutched her chest and collapsed onto the desk.
"Marné-san!" (Yuna)
"It finally seems to be working." (Corbeau)
"...Poison." (Marne)
Marné-san looked at Corbeau in pain.
"Since there was a possibility that the smell could give it away, I used a slow-acting drug, but it seems it went unnoticed." (Corbeau)
Hearing those words, I used magic to blow open the window. Then, the poison that seemed to have filled the room was released outside, spreading into the sky. It would be good if the poison would fade, but now was not the time to think about it. I supported Marné-san's body.
"Why, are you okay?" (Corbeau)
Apparently, he hadn't even noticed me. Probably poison wouldn't work on me. Fairy sleeping powder didn't work either. I think Bear Equipment had protected me. I held Marné-san in my arms and used healing magic. Marné-san's complexion improved.
"Yuna, you." (Marne)
Marné-san looked at me curiously.
"Marné-san, now...." (Yuna)
"That's right." (Marne)
Marné-san stood up.
"Why, can you stand up?" (Corbeau)
Corbeau looked at Marné-san in surprise. There was no obligation to answer that.
"Yuna, sorry, but could you catch him. The charge is that he tried to kill me using poison." (Marne)
"Roger" (Yuna)
I left Marné-san and approached Corbeau.
"Stay away!" (Corbeau)
Corbeau stepped back as if to escape, but his back hit the wall. He couldn't back down any further. The distance between us was shrinking.
"Don't come!" (Corbeau)
I closed the distance in one go and swung my arm. The bear punch sank into Corbeau's stomach, and he fell to the floor clutching his stomach.
"I went easy on you." (Yuna)
Even though I held back, it was just enough to ensure he wouldn't die. After being hit by a bear punch, Corbeau was unable to stand up and was in pain, clutching his stomach.
"I'm going to arrest you for attempted murder." (Marne)
"You think my dad would stay quiet after you did this to me?" (Corbeau)
"I didn't come here without thinking about it. This is perfect timing, you see." (Marne)
Marné-san said that, looking out the broken window. I looked outside too and saw Ellelaura-san and several people who looked like knights. Marné-san called out to Ellelaura-san outside, "Come inside."
"We've just arrived, but could you explain the situation to me?" (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san asked, holding her head. Marné-san talked about what had happened so far.
"Trying to kill Marné-sama, a key figure in the nation, is no wonder people suspect you of treason." (Ellelaura said to Corbeau)
"That's not my intention." (Corbeau)
Corbeau, who was tied up by the knight, denied it. It seemed that the pain in his stomach had subsided enough that he could argue.
"Your testimony has been recorded using a magic device. And you tried to kill me." (Marne)
Apparently, this conversation was also recorded.
"Ellelaura, sorry, but could you please check the room? There might be poison somewhere." (Marne said to Ellelaura)
Following Ellelaura-san's instructions, the knights checked the room and found Corbeau himself holding two bottles filled with liquid. Both were more than half full, but there was still liquid left.
"This is the poison, and this is the antidote." (Marne)
"Can you tell by looking?" (Yuna)
"I know." (Marne)
"Let me see it." (Yuna)
I used my skill, Bear's Observation[1]. The purple liquid was displayed as "Liquid made with Lion Grass." The bluish liquid was labeled as "Liquid made with Mullet Grass."
Both were liquids. Moreover, it was the name of a plant I didn't know. I wished it indicated which was the poison and which was the antidote. They said that poisonous plants could be both poison and medicine, so it might not be possible to label them unambiguously. I returned the vial to Marné-san.
"Ellelaura, I'll examine this liquid, so can you leave the rest to me?" (Marne)
"Yes, I'll take care of this." (Ellelaura)
"Thank you. I needed your help because there was a chance that the son of a nobleman might escape." (Marne)
"I'll ask Marné-sama to give evidence as well." (Ellelaura)
"Yes, that's fine. Also, there are a few other people who can give testimony. I've written them down on this piece of paper, so please check it." (Marne)
Marné-san handed the prepared paper to Ellelaura-san. Ellelaura-san looked annoyed, but she accepted the paper. Leaving this to Ellelaura-san, we left the room and headed towards a certain place.
"So why are you here at my place?" (Kabo)
As we arrived, Kabo-san looked at us with a disturbing look. I briefly explain what I just said to Kabo-san.
"Well, to check for any poison Corbeau had, you see."
"Poison! Do it somewhere else!" (Kabo)
Upon hearing that it was poison, Kabo-san stepped back.
"I'll be careful, so it'll be fine." (Marne)
When Marné-san held up her hand, a ball of water the size of a watermelon appearer. I thought it was a ball of water, but it was full of air. It looked like a soap bubble. The bubble landed on the table. Apparently, it worked inside the soap bubble. Marné-san put the small bottle of purple liquid that Corbeau was holding into the bubble. While inside the soap bubble, she opened the lid of the vial and dripped the liquid onto a small dish. Then, she immediately put the lid back on the vial and poured another liquid into the small dish. Then the color changed.
"Lion Grass poison, huh." (Marne)
"How can you know that?" (Yuna)
"There are many different kinds of poison, but there are only a limited number of slow-acting poisons, you see" (Marne)
And the liquid in the other vial was the antidote. After checking for poison, we headed towards the Adventurer's Guild.
"Well then, we're free now."
"At least give me your contact information."
"The receptionist knows."
With that said, the men who had attacked us at Corbeau's command left the room. And when everyone was gone, Marné-san looked at me.
"So, Yuna. What did you do to me?" (Marne)
It seemed she remembered.
"What?" (Yuna)
I'd try to cover it up just in case.
"You cured my poison. My body was warm, and the pain was gone." (Yuna)
It seemed like I needed to explain it.
"I just used magic to cure it." (Yuna)
"Did you cure it with magic? There's no way that's possible!" (Marne)
"A priest? A priest can do that, right?" (Yuna)
I had heard something like that.
"It seems that some people misunderstand this, but priests can't cure illnesses. They just enhance the healing powers that people have." (Marne)
"…………" (Yuna)
"If you leave a scratch alone, it will heal over time. You're just speeding up the process. That's why priests can't cure diseases or poison." (Marne)
"But I've heard it can also cure illnesses." (Yuna)
"That's just giving you medicine and hastening the effects of that medicine. So it just looks like you're cured." (Marne)
Is that so?
"It can shorten the time it takes for a drug to take effect, which would normally take several hours or even days. But that's still an amazing thing." (Marne)
Indeed, it was amazing just the fact that the suffering time had been shortened.
"So, things that can't be cured with medicine or by a person's natural power can't be healed by the power of a priest either." (Marne)
"I didn't know." (Yuna)
"Well, I don't say it openly, so to the average person it looks like they were cured with magic." (Marne)
"So, injuries too?" (Yuna)
"Yes, it's the same thing. It's just applying medicine to the wound and hastening its effect. If you're a skilled priest, you can heal even a broken bone." (Marne)
Broken bones would heal over time. This meant that it could be cured by the power of nature.
"So magic can't cure my poison if I haven't taken the antidote." (Marne)
"…………" (Yuna)
Is that why you were asking?
"I can't go into detail, but my magic can cure poison. So, please don't tell anyone else..." (Yuna)
"I won't tell anyone. If Yuna hadn't healed me then, I might have died. If Yuna, who saved my life, asks me not to tell anyone, then I won't tell anyone." (Marne)
"Thank you" (Yuna)
Author's Note
Volume 21 of the book was released on Friday, February 7th.
Please check the activity report for details such as the cover and distribution locations of in-store purchase bonuses.
Currently, the publishing company, PASH! Books & Bunko Editorial Department, X, is running a campaign to give away a signed copy of volume 21 by the author to three lucky winners.
If you are interested, I would appreciate you applying.
The deadline is 23:59 on Sunday, February 16th.
*Also, we are running a discount campaign on the electronic version of the book. For more details, please see our activity report. Thank you for your understanding.
*From next time, posts will return to every 4 days. (Sorry if it's late)
The original version of book 22 is also finished.
In conjunction with this, we are now accepting requests for store purchase bonuses for volume 22 and original stories Est.
For more details, please see the activity report.
Please post requests for ESUTO in the activity report.
*If I take a break, I will post a comment, and if I am suddenly unable to post, I will notify you via activity reports or X (the old Twitter). (I'm sorry if I can't do this.)
*131st chapter of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" comic is currently available on PASH UP! neo (125th chapter of NicoNico Manga is currently available)
*Episode 23 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off is currently available on PASH UP! neo (Episode 20 of NicoNico Manga is currently available)
If you have time, please check out the comic version.
[Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear to be released]
Book 21 released on February 7, 2025. (Next volume, volume 22, in the works)
The 12th volume of the comic was released on August 3, 2024. (The release date for the next volume, 13, has not yet been decided.)
Comicalized Gaiden Volume 3 was released on December 20, 2024. (The release date for the next volume, Volume 4, has not yet been decided.)
The 11th volume of the paperback edition was released on October 4, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring Yuna and Shuri on the cover is January 20, 2025. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The release date for the next volume, 12, has yet to be decided.)
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.
Translation Note
[1] I forgot the skill name.
Extra Credit
Thanks to TV.Station for the corrections